Yours to Hold
by inspired.by.music
Summary: Tori doesn't have many friends at school, thanks to a certain someone, and her home life is difficult, but will the new kid at school make things better, or give her life more problems? Shane/OC, Nate/OC
1. Invitations

**Chapter 1: Invitations**

"Tori! Tori wake up!" Tori's six-year-old brother tore her from her dreams. Tori groaned.

"What Adam?" Adam dropped down on Tori's stomach. "Oof! I'm up!"

"I'm gonna be late for my first day of first grade!" Adam whined.

"Alright! Go make sure your sister is up." Adam jumped out of the bed and ran down the hall. Tory forced herself out of bed and took a quick shower, suddenly regretting staying up until three in the morning talking with her best friend, Mandy. Tori had tried to end the call on many occasions, but Mandy kept going on and on about the celebrities who were attending Tori's school this year. Tori put on a pair of dark skinny jeans, a red graphic tee with a flaming guitar on it, a pair of red converses, a black fishnet on her right arm, and a chain necklace. She wore dark eyeliner, but everything else was light and let her dark brown waves fall over her shoulders, then ran downstairs. Her fourteen-year-old sister, Sophie had already gotten breakfast for herself and Adam.

Another morning in the Strib household. With their dad in jail for the rest of his life and their mom dead, Tori cared for her brother and sister. Her grandma tried to help with the bills, but she could only do so much. Tory grabbed a granola bar and headed for the door. "Come on guys!" Sophie and Adam ran out the door and jumped into the backseat of the blue Saab. Tori slid into the driver's seat and they reached the school with fifteen minutes to spare. Tori dropped Adam off at his classroom and started to walk to her class.

"Hey freak." A voice from behind Tory caught her in mid-step, but she kept walking. "Hey freak! Look at me when I talk to you." Tori turned around slowly, coming face to face with Brad. He'd been making her life a living hell since she dumped him freshman year. Three years later, and his huge ego still hadn't gotten over one 'no'.

"Oh, you were talking to me? Cause you're the only freak I see." One of the guys standing behind Brad said, 'burrrrn.' Brad glared behind his shoulder than turned his attention back to Tori.

"You know you want me baby." Brad took a step toward her, grabbed her wrists, and pinned her against the lockers. Tori spit in his face and anger twisted his expression. Brad pulled his right hand back, he was going to slap her. Tori squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for pain, but a few moments passed and there was no contact. She opened her eyes, someone had grabbed Brad's arm.

"Get off her dude!" She knew that voice, but Brad's head was blocking the mystery boy's face. Brad yanked his hand away.

"Go away man!" Brad demanded. Brad was about to slap her, when once again the hand stopped him. This time pulling Brad off her, pushing him against the lockers, and folding his arm behind his back. Tori paused for a few seconds realized who had just saved her. Jason Gray. Tori snapped back to reality and continued down the hall, but Jason followed her.

"What was that about?" Tori turned toward him.

"Look, you're new here right? Here's some advice, if you don't want to be terrorized by Brad and his goons for the rest of the year, I'd suggest you not be nice to me."

"I don't care about them. Why was he going to hit you?"

"I see you're trying to be nice and all, but just leave me alone." Tory turned into her classroom and Jason followed her in.

"Looks like we're in the same class." He whispered. Tori sat down at an open desk and Jason approached the teacher. "I'm new this year." He said handing Mrs. McSweeny a note.

"Alright Jason, you can take a seat next too… Ms. Strib." The teacher said pointing towards Tori. Tori groaned and Jason sat in the desk next to her.

"Looks like the whole, 'leave me alone' thing is going to be a bit hard, Ms. Strib." Tori sighed.

"Tori." Jason stuck out his hand.

"Nice to meet you Tori, I'm Jason." Tori shook his hand.

"I know." She whispered.

"What?"

"You are Jason Gray. You and your brother are in a band together."

"Oh, I didn't think you knew." Mrs. McSweeny shut the door.

"Okay class, let's get started." The bell finally rang and students poured into the halls. Tori walked to her locker, unaware that Brad was waiting for her.

"Hey Tor." By the time she had noticed him, it was too late.

"Go away Bradley."

"Bradley?" Brad grabbed her arm.

"Get off me!"

"Or what? Is your little boyfriend gonna get me?" Tori jerked her arm causing Brad to loose his grip.

"Go away!" Brad grabbed her tighter, once again pinning her between his body and the lockers. Tori squealed. "NO!"

"She said no." It was Jason again. Brad glanced over his shoulder.

"Whatever. This doesn't concern you." Brad tried kissing her, but Tori moved. "Bitch!" Jason grabbed Brad by the shoulders and threw him to the ground.

"She said no." Jason said a bit more firmly and Brad got on his feet.

"Bring it on, pretty boy." Brad took a swing at Jason, but he dodged it. Jason jumped into the air, bringing his foot around in a roundhouse kick. His foot connected with Brad's jaw, knocking Brad to the ground. Jason stuck the landing.

"Leave her alone." Brad got up and stormed away, holding his jaw, then Jason turned toward Tori. "You okay?" Tori nodded, then started sifting through her locker, in search for her History Book. Jason lightly touched her shoulder and said, "What's going on with him?" Tori took the book from her locker and started walking down the hall. "Tori." Jason said going after her.

"You really need to leave me alone. You're a celebrity, you should hand around me."

"I don't understand. What does me being a celebrity have to do with anything?"

"I'm a looser that makes anyone who hangs around me a looser."

"You aren't a looser." Tori's book slipped from her hands, landing on her foot.

"Shit!" Tori scooped up the book and began down the hall.

"Tori…"

"Just leave me alone!" Tori stumbled into her next class and didn't see Jason or Brad through the next two hours and soon it was lunch. Tori sat alone as usual, just reading her book, when she noticed someone standing on the other side of the table, facing her. Jason, not just Jason, Shane and Nate were with him.

"Uh… hey." Jason whispered.

"Can we sit here?" Shane asked in an exited tone. Jason hadn't told him about earlier.

"It's a free country." Tory answered without looking up. The three sat their trays down and slid into the chairs.

"Thanks." Nate said.

"So what's your name?" Shane said, again with the excited tone.

"Tori." Jason said for her. Shane looked at Jason.

"You know her?" Jason nodded and Shane looked back at Tori. "Well it's nice to meet you. Tori." Tori forced a smile, then started reading again. "So how do you know Jason?" Tori looked up from her book, clearly annoyed.

"We have first hour together." Just then, a group of screaming girls walked up to the table on Tori's side facing Connect 3.

"Oh. My. God. You're… You're… You're…"

"Connect 3?" Shane said. An ear-piercing scream sounded through the cafeteria.

"Oh my god! Can we get a picture?"

"An autograph?"

"Will you sign my shirt?"

"My bra?" The girls giggled as Tori grabbed the apple and her book and walked into the hall. She sat down against the wall and continued to read. A few minutes later, she was interrupted once again interrupted by Jason.

"Hey, you disappeared." Jason sat down on the floor next to Tori

"Yeah, I really didn't want to see that girl's bra."

"What? Oh, we didn't sign her bra or any other undergarments, thank God."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why did you stop Brad? He's been doing that ever since tenth grade. No one ever bothered to stop him before." There was a short silence.

"I dunno. You were in trouble. And not to be shallow or anything, but you being so pretty helped the decision." Tori blushed.

_Stop blushing!_ Tori thought, but then she noticed that he was blushing too. _How cute_.

"He's done this before?"

"Well, no. He's never _hit_ me before, but he yells and threatens me a lot."

"Have you told you parents?"

"Uh… my parents aren't exactly around."

"Oh, well than who takes care of you?"

"I do. Me, my little brother, and my little sister live together in an apartment."

"You take care of your siblings, go to school, and pay for all their expenses. How?"

"Well my grandma pays for as much as she can, but I still need a part time job to make ends meet."

"So what happened to your parents?" There was a short silence. "Oh, sorry. To personal?"

"No, it's just the last person I told is still holding it over my head."

"I understand." Tori glanced at the clock and stood up.

"I should get to class." Jason stood as well.

"What class do you have?"

"Art." Jason glanced at his paper.

"Aw. I have band."

"Do you know where the music room is?"

"No."

"I'll take you there." Tori said, warming up to the idea of a new friend. They walked down to the music room, making it there before the warning bell rang.

"Thanks for showing me here."

"No big. The art room is right there." Tori said pointing to the room across the hall. Art passed quickly and Spanish seemed to drag on for hours, but it was finally last hour. Geometry. Tori walked into the classroom noticing Jason signaling her to sit in the seat next to him. "Geometry huh?"

"Yeah. Math, not my best subject."

"Me neither and Mr. Harris is super strict."

"But I hear he's got a fabulous ass." Jason said in an accomplished gay voice. Tori began to laugh and Jason smiled. "I like your laugh." Tori could feel the red rising in her cheeks, when Mr. Harris closed the door and started the class. The final bell rang at last and Tori stopped at her locker. She looked in her wallet. Three dollars and thirty-seven cents.

"Damn it." Tori cursed under her breath.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked. Tori looked up at him.

"Nothing."

"I know we just met and all, but I think I can tell when something's wrong." Tori sighed and decided to swallow her pride for the sake of her siblings."

"I don't have enough money to pay for dinner. Most of my pay check went towards school supplies."

"Don't worry about it. Me and my brothers would be happy to treat you, and your family to dinner."

"I couldn't ask…"

"You didn't ask. I invited."

"But…"

"Please. It'd give me the chance to meet your brother and sister. Tori smiled slightly.

"Fine."

"Great. I gotta go, but we'll pick you up around seven-thirty." Tori nodded. "Oh, address."

"Heavenly Acers, Apartment complex. 4744 Carson Dr. Apartment 43D."

"Awesome. I'll see you later."


	2. Guys Suck

**Chapter 2: Guys Suck**

Later that night, Jason waited anxiously outside Tori's apartment. He knocked on the door and waited impatiently for her to answer. Tori answered the door with a sad smile.

"Hey, uh… come in." Tori stepped out of the way and Jason walked in. "Small family crisis. Can you wait here for a sec?" Jason nodded.

"Of course." Tori walked down a short hall and stopped at a closed door.

"Come on Sophie! He's not worth it!" Tori was answered with a yell. "Sophie, please. Connect 3 are here." Tori whispered the last part so Jason wouldn't hear.

"I don't care!" Tori suddenly felt someone beside her.

"What's going on?" Jason whispered.

"Sophie's boyfriend broke up with her through a text message, because she refused to have sex with him."

"I hate my fellow gender."

"Please come out!" Tori pleaded through the door.

"NO!" Sophie screamed. "I'm never coming out!" Tori sighed and rested her back against the wall. Jason looked at the door, then softly knocked. "What?!" Came her harsh reply.

"Hi Sophie. My name is Jason." Silence. "Uh… I don't know who this guy is, but it sounds to me like he's not worth to think about, much less date. And you know I have a fifteen-year-old, freshman, brother." It was silent for a minute, when the door opened and a girl who resembled Tori stood in the doorway. The only difference was Sophie had brown eyes, Tori had bright blue, and Sophie's hair was pin-straight.

"Hi." Sophie said meekly. Her face was red and her eyes were slightly bloodshot. Tori immediately went to Sophie's side.

"Let's get you cleaned up." Jason smiled at the care Tori showed for her sister. "We'll be done in five. Adam's room is down the hall. You can say hi to him if you want." Tori led Sophie to the bathroom and Jason walked down the hall. He peeked into a bedroom, immediately knowing it wasn't a little boy's, but something caught his eye. Jason walked into the room, sliding his hand over the light-switch.

The walls were covered in Art. Some were portraits of a beautiful woman, some were abstract, some were landscapes, but the one that caught his eye was of a man. The painting looked half man, half monster. It was frightening. A voice behind him caused him to jump. "Why are you in here?" Jason turned around, knowing she was mad.

"I'm sorry. I was looking for Adam and…"

"Whatever. Just get out." Jason left the room and Tori did as well, shutting the door behind her. Jason followed Tori to Adam's room. Jason barely saw the kid coming at him, when he realized, this was Adam. The little kid from third period.

"Jason!" The boy shouted as he wrapped his arms around Jason's legs.

"Hey bud."

"You know each other?" Tori asked confused.

"For third hour I go to the first grade and they paired me up with Adam and we got to spend the entire hour together."

"Jason's really cool, Tori!"

"Is that right?" Tori said as she ruffled Adam's hair. "Well, we get to go to dinner with Jason and his family."

"Really? Yay!" Adam ran across the room and busied himself with getting his shoes on. Tori and Jason laughed. Adam jumped to his feet, then grabbed one of Jason's hands and one of Tori's. He pulled them to the door of the apartment. "Come on Sophie!" Adam yelled. Sophie walked up behind them.

"I'm coming, Squirt."

"Don't call me Squirt!" Tori sighed.

"Stop it you two or we'll leave you home."

"Nooooo!" Sophie and Adam cried in unison. The four walked out to the limo parked outside of the apartment.

"So where are you parked?" Tori asked. Jason smiled and pointed to the limo. "You brought a limo?" Jason nodded and Adam ran ahead of the group.

"You're the best ever Jason!" Tori put on her famous pouty face.

"The best?" She asked sadly. Adam ran back to her and wrapped his arms around her legs.

"You're the best too, Tori." Tori smiled and kissed the top of his head.

"Thanks, trail mix."

"Your welcome corn dog!" Adam ran back over to examine the limo and Sophie joined him.

"Corn dog?" Jason asked, trying not to laugh.

"We went camping one summer and I binged on corn dogs, Adam binged on trail mix. Hence the Natenames."

"What about Sophie?"

"…She uh… wasn't with us…" Tori answered sadly, but just then the limo door opened and Shane and Nate stepped out.

"We were beginning to think you got lost." Shane said laughing. Sophie smiled slightly at Nate and he returned the smile. By the way they looked at each other, Tori could tell they had met before. Now she thought about it, they were in the same grade.

"We're going to be late…" Nate said and Jason agreed.

"Yeah, we should get going." Everyone climbed into the limo. The night went well, except for the excessive amount of paparazzi. Tori never liked getting her picture taken, so that part wasn't very fun, but everything else went well. Sophie and Nate talked to each other most of the night and Tori enjoyed Jason's light humor. Shane felt a little left out, but Adam seemed to take a liking to him, Shane always did well with kids. And according to his brothers, it was because they had the same maturity level. After dinner they decided to go to Zap-zone, thankfully the paparazzi couldn't follow them there.

Jason and Shane were on the green team, Nate and Adam were on the blue team, and Tori and Sophie were on the red team. After two rounds of getting the butts whipped by the girls Jason, Nate, and Shane decided that they were going to change the teams. Jason and Tori, Nate and Sophie, and Shane and Adam. After four more rounds, everyone decided it was time to go home. Being almost eleven o'clock and they had school the next day. The limo pulled up outside the apartment complex. Shane gave Adam a piggyback ride up the stairs Jason and Tori walked together a few feet behind Sophie and Nate.

"We'll see you guys tomorrow." Tori said, mostly talking to Jason.

"Can't wait." Jason said smiling. Tori, Adam, and Sophie walked into the apartment. A month of school passed, Brad had decided to leave Tori alone and things were going good. It was a Friday, after school, and Jason, Tori, Shane, Adam, Sophie, and Nate were hanging out again. Friday's had become their hang out night. Shane had brought a date with him so Adam tagged along with Tori and Jason, but they didn't mind. They didn't make it back to the apartment until midnight and Adam was exhausted.

He had fallen asleep on the way back so Jason carried him up the stairs, putting him down in his own bed. Jason kissed his forehead and quietly shut the door behind him. Tori smiled. "Looks like you and Adam have gotten pretty close." Jason nodded.

"Yeah, it's like having another little brother."

"I'm happy."

"Well, I'm happy that you're happy." Tori sat on the couch and clicked on the muted TV, just for the soft light.

"No, I'm really happy. That's a big deal, I haven't been truly happy since… my mom died."

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but what happened?" Tori sighed.

"It's a long story."

"Well, I happen to have a long time." Jason sat next to Tori. She told her story from when she was seven and her dad used to beat her mother, to when she was ten and her dad started to beat her, then when she was twelve and her dad started to molest her, and finally when she was fifteen her dad started to beat on Sophie. That was when everything exploded. Tori was fed up with her father and when he started on Sophie, it put her over the edge. Tori fought back and it ended with her mother in the hospital and her dad took off with Sophie. He didn't come back for three months and when he did, Sophie was black and blue from head to toe. Her mom was planning on taking off while he was sleeping, she was going to take Tori, Sophie, and Adam and run, but he woke up.

He killed Tori's mom and went to prison for the rest of his life. Jason was speechless, it took him a minute to realize that tears stained Tori's face. He pulled her into a comforting hug. He felt so bad about how messed up her life had been, but he didn't know what to say. Neither knew how long Jason held onto her, but when they finally separated it was five a.m. Tori yawned. "It's five in the morning?! I'm so sorry, I've kept you here."

"No, it's okay. I really don't mind."

"You know you're like the best guy-friend I've ever had." Jason smiled, she'd never know how much that comment hurt him.**(For you all of you who don't understand why Jason was hurt by what she said: Jason like, likes her and she just called him her best friend. Ouch)** "So how are you going to get home?"

"Uh… I don't know. Could I just crash on your couch until tomorrow? Well technically today, but whatever."

"Of course. I'll get you a pillow and blanket." Tori grabbed an extra pillow off her bed and the throw blanket from the bottom of her closet. "It's not much but…"

"It's perfect. Thanks."

"Good night."

"Night." Tori walked into her room and fell asleep instantly. She didn't wake up until eleven the next day. She stumbled out of bed and managed to force a brush through her hair. She walked out into the kitchen and grabbed an apple from the fridge. Jason was still asleep on the couch and it didn't look like anyone else had been up yet. Tori walked back down the hall to check. Nope, everyone was still asleep, but there was no doubt Adam would be up soon.

And sure enough, by the time Tori had gone to the bathroom and changed her clothes, Adam was awake. "Hey Adam, why don't you go jump on Jason." Tori whispered. Adam smiled, then ran to the side of the couch. He climbed on the armrest and belly flopped onto Jason. Jason nearly peed his pants and Adam was laughing hysterically. Tori was laughing as well. When Jason had woken up enough to realize what happened, he started to tickle Adam.

"I'm…innocent!" Adam yelled through his giggles. "Tori…told me…to!" Jason stopped for a second.

"Is that right?" Jason said, standing up. In two steps, he was tickling Tori. She rolled to the floor laughing.

"S…Stop!" Tori laughed. Jason ceased tickling and they stood to their feet.

"What time is it?"

"Eleven thirtyish."

"I should get going. My parents might freak if I'm not home by lunchtime." Tori nodded.

"See ya later."

"Bye." Adam ran up and hugged Jason. "Bye Adam."

"Bye Jason!" Adam yelled then ran off to his room. Jason walked to the door.

"I'll see you Monday."

"Monday." Jason disappeared into the hall and Tori dropped down on the couch. That Monday at school Tori was walking to her locker, when Brad stopped her.

"Hey Tor."

"What do you want Brad?"

"I want you to break it off with Jason."

"Just leave me and Jason alone."

"I'll tell everyone."

"No you won't. You wouldn't." Tori tried to sound confident, but she was always afraid he would tell.

"Yes I will."

"Go away Brad!"

"Fine, have it your way." Brad walked away and Tori continued to her locker. Jason was waiting for her and he knew as soon as he saw her something was wrong.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing. Just Brad."

"Him again? I thought he was going to leave you alone."

"I did too."

"Just forget about him, let's get to class." Tori nodded and walked to class with Jason. By the time lunch came around Tori notice that people were giving her strange looks. She had almost made it to her locker, when some girl said,

"Here comes the slut now." Tori folded her arms over her stomach and headed for her locker. Brad was there.

"You told everyone?!" She yelled.

"I told you to end it."

"What's going on?" Jason was standing behind Tori.

"You son of a bitch!" Tori lunged at Brad, but Jason held her back. His hands firmly planted on her waist. Brad gave her a twisted smile and everyone started for the cafeteria, until Tori and Jason were the only two left in the hallway.

"What happened?" Jason asked.

"He told everyone."

"Told everyone what?"

"He was the only other person that knew all the crap about my family."

"It's okay, they can't hate you for what your parents did."

"No. There's something else I didn't tell you. Adam… he's my son and he doesn't know."

"Adam's your son?"

"Yeah… uh…my father…" A tear rolled down Tori's cheek. Jason wrapped his arms around Tori.

"Shhh. It's okay." Tori clenched his shirt in her fists. It wasn't fair for her to have to go through all of this, on top of everything else. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed quietly. "I'm sorry." Jason whispered. Tori tuned away from Jason and wiped her face on her sleeve.

"I'll see you later." Tori said, then walked off toward the girls' bathroom. Jason wanted to follow her and tell her everything would be all right, but he could tell she needed to be alone. Tori leaned over the bathroom sink and patted water on her face. She had finally gotten the tears to stop, she never cried like this. She hadn't let herself cry since her mom died, now this was the second time Jason had seen her cry. Tori tried to get on with the rest of the day as if nothing happened, but people were starring. They didn't know, all they knew was Tori had a child at thirteen.

If they knew what she'd gone through, even these heartless blood-sucking parasites wouldn't be treating her like this. By the time her last hour came, Tori was ready to break down crying again, but she wouldn't let herself. Tori slid into her seat next to Jason. "You okay?" Tori just nodded. Some guy walked between Jason and Tori's desks and coughed, 'whore'. Jason stood. "You take that back."

"What are you, her bodyguard?"

"Take it back."

"Make me."

"Wrong answer." Jason grabbed the guy's throat with one hand. "Take it back."

"Fine… I'm… sorry." The boy strained to talk. Jason released his neck and sat back down in his seat. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, including Tori's. He glanced over at her and she smiled. Was Jason her bodyguard? Because he sure acted like it. After class, Jason walked with Tori to pick up Adam.

"So, are we doing anything Friday?"

"Actually, Connect 3 have a concert on Saturday, so we won't really be able to go anywhere, but if you'd like, you could come watch us practice. Give us some honest feedback."

"Sounds like fun." Adam ran up to them before they reached his class. He had tears in his eyes so Tori bent down and scooped him up in her arms. "What's the matter, trail mix?"

"Some of the big kids at recess were calling you icky names." Tori ran her hand up and down Adam's back.

"It's okay. Let's just get home." Jason walked Tori out to her car, still carrying Adam, but Sophie wasn't waiting for her as usual. Tori set Adam down in the backseat and glanced around the near-empty parking lot. "Where's Sophie?"

"I don't know. Maybe she forgot a book or something."

"She usually gets out here way before me, even when she forgets something or has to talk with a teacher."

"Does she have a cell phone?"

"Yeah, our grandma pays for our cell phones and internet."

"Well, I wait with you, until she comes out and if she's not out in a few minutes we'll try her cell." Tori nodded in agreement and leaned against the car's hood. They waited an impatient five minutes, then Tori called Sophie's cell phone. No answer. Three more calls and five minutes later Tori was about ready to freak, when she spotted Sophie walking out of the school building accompanied by Nate. Tori felt better instantly, suddenly feeling stupid for freaking out.

"Sorry I freaked." She whispered to Jason as Sophie and Nate got closer. Jason just gave her an understanding nod.

"Sorry I'm late." Sophie said then laughed. "Nate was chased down by a group of screaming sixth graders and I had to save him."

"In my defense those were the fastest sixth graders I've ever met." Jason and Tori laughed. Nate blushed slightly.


	3. Love, Kisses, and Heartbreak

**Chapter 3: Love, Kisses, and Heartbreak**

Sophie wrapped her arms around Nate in a short hug.

"I'll see you later."

"Bye." Nate answered sweetly. Sophie walked to the other side of the car and sat down in the passenger seat. Tori watched as Nate's eyes followed Sophie, then turned to Jason after she got into the car. "You ready to go Jase?" Jason nodded.

"See ya tomorrow, Tori."

"Uh… Hold on a sec, I'll walk you back to your car." Tori turned and poked her head in the door. "I'll be right back Soph, I'm gonna walk the boy's back to their car."

"I wanna come."

"No, you stay here with Adam. I'll be right back." Sophie pouted, but stayed in the car. Tori walked with Nate and Jason back to his car, once they were a few feet away from Tori's car she started talking. "So Nate. Are you and Sophie…?"

"No! I mean no, we're just friends." Tori narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Nate, I may not be the most perceptive person, but I notice things." Tori could see the red rising in Nate cheeks. "Look, Sophie's a smart girl, but she hasn't had the best taste in guys lately. You are definitely a giant step up for her, but I'd really hate to see things become awkward between you two if something were to happen. I guess all I'm trying to say is be careful. I don't want to see anyone get hurt and I'm not just talking about Sophie." They arrived at the car and Nate got in without a word, then Tori looked at Jason. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, Nate's just a little sensitive, but you said everything right." It was silent for a moment. "Now I feel like I should walk you back to your car."

"Well if you did that then I would have to walk you to your car and we'd get stuck in this vicious cycle of walking back and forth." Jason smiled.

"That's true. So I'll see you later then?"

"Yeah. Later." Tori turned and walked back to her car, happy to finally leave school. After they got to the apartment Adam went into his room and Sophie sat down on the couch, still texting, presumably the same person she had been since she had gotten into the car, Nate. Tori sat down in the chair across from the couch. "Hey Soph, can we talk for a minute?" Sophie looked up from her phone and nodded.

"Yeah…"

"Well uh…" Tori wasn't exactly sure what to say, this was awkward.

"You're not going to give me the 'talk', are you?"

"No, it's just…"

"Look, me and Nate are taking everything slow. I promise. We'll be careful. Besides Nate's got this purity ring, pretty cool huh?" Tori nodded.

"Very cool." Sophie went back to texting. Tori knew Nate would be good for Sophie, she was just worried how Sophie would be for Nate. Every family has they're issues, but her family had more issues than an entire season of Jerry Springer. Before she knew it, it was Friday night and Tori was watching them rehearse on stage. The only people usually aloud at a rehearsal like this, was their parents and Big Rob, so Tori definitely felt privileged. Tori watched as they practiced the 'acrobatic' part of their concert. She almost had a heart attack when Jason back-flipped off a raised part of the stage.

He stumbled a little on the landing and fell flat on his stomach. Luckily there was no harm, he pushed himself up and practiced the flip a few more times, landing perfectly every time. After they were done practicing Jason walked to the edge of the stage, looking down at Tori. "So what do you think?"

"I only have one complaint."

"And what's that?"

"Shane's girl pants." Jason looked back at Shane, who was close enough to hear what Tori said.

"Hey! They are not girl pants!"

"Okay, my pants are baggier than yours. And I'm wearing boot-cuts." Tori climbed onto the stage.

"I like my pants!"

"Yeah, actually I do too. Think I could barrow them some time?" Shane rolled his eyes at Tori.

"You're just jealous that I look better in 'girl jeans'—" Shane made quotations with his fingers as he said girl jeans. "—than you do."

"Oh no he didn't." Nate said, resisting the urge to burst into laughter.

"You wanna go, Shane?" Terror filled Shane's expression and he sunk back a little.

"No." Everyone at that point burst out laughing, including Shane. After they all had recovered from their laughing fit, Jason offered to drive Tori and Sophie home (Their grandma was watching Adam for the night). After picking Adam up, Jason took the three back to their apartment.

"So you're coming to the concert tomorrow right? Back stage passes."

"Yeah, we'll definitely be there."

"Cool, so we'll pick you guys up around five? The concert doesn't start until seven, but we have to be there early." Tori nodded.

"Can't wait." Jason hugged her then Tori followed Sophie and Adam into the apartment. The next day Jason arrived just before five and drove Tori, Sophie, and Adam to the concert. The first hour of being there was pretty boring for Tori, Sophie, and Adam since Jason, Shane, and Nate had to do sound checks and other pre-concert things. But when six o'clock rolled around Jason, Shane, and Nate introduced them to their opening act, Demi Lovato. Shane introduced her.

"This is Demi Lovato, my co-star in Camp Rock."

"Oh yeah," Tori said. "I recognize you from the music videos. I haven't got the chance to see Camp Rock though." Demi smiled. "I'm Tori, by the way."

"Sophie."

"And I'm Adam! You're pretty." Demi ruffled Adam's hair.

"You're pretty handsome your-self." Adam smiled. Tori thought she saw a flash of jealousy in Shane's eyes, but it passed quickly. The entire group headed off to greet some fans, with Shane and Demi lagging behind everyone and Tori behind them. She caught up to Shane's right side and whispered,

"Jealous of a six year old Shane?" Tori smirked back at him as she jogged to catch up with Jason. Tori walked silently with her thoughts. The concert started at seven and ended around ten. It was getting to the end of the concert, when Jason announced they had only one song left to perform. Tori, Sophie, Adam, and Demi were watching from behind the stage curtain.

"Hey all you fans out there!" Applause and shouting filled the arena, but died down when Jason started to speak again. "We have one last song for you guys. I wrote this song, for someone who is very close to me," Jason said looking back at Tori, who he could see. "and I hope you all like it." Shane sang the lead part and Nate and Jason sung back up.

"I see you standing here  
But you're so far away  
Starving for your attention  
You don't even know my name

You're going through so much  
But I know that I could be the one to hold you

Every single day  
I find it hard to say  
I could be yours alone  
You will see someday  
That all along the way  
I was yours to hold  
I was yours to hold

I see you walking by  
Your hair always hiding your face  
I wonder why you've been hurting  
I wish I had some way to say

You're going through so much  
Don't you know that I could be the one to hold you

Every single day  
I find it hard to say  
I could be yours alone  
You will see someday  
That all along the way  
I was yours to hold  
I was yours to hold

I'm stretching but you're just out of reach  
You should know  
I'm ready when you're ready for me  
And I'm waiting for the right time  
For the day I catch your eye  
To let you know  
That I'm yours to hold

Every single day  
I find it hard to say  
I could be yours alone  
You will see someday  
That all along the way  
I was yours to hold  
I was yours to hold

Every single day  
I find it hard to say  
I could be yours alone  
You will see someday  
That all along the way  
I was yours to hold  
I was yours to hold

I'm stretching but you're just out of reach  
I'm ready when you're ready for me" **(song and lyrics for 'Yours to Hold' by Skillet)**

Tori stood speechless. Jason wrote her a song, and he likes her. Jason was walking toward her. What should she say? What will he say?

"Tori. What did you think of the song?" Jason was standing in front of her, his lips were moving, but she wasn't hearing anything.

"W…what?"

"The song. Did you like it?"

"I uh… was… was it for me?" Jason nodded slowly, afraid of what she was going to say. "You know I like you Jason, but… uh… I'm sorry." Tori turned on her heels and ran. Tears streamed down her face as she searched for a place to be alone. Finally, she came to a small dimly lit corner at the back of the stage, which was surrounded by cords and unused equipment. There was just enough room for her to sit. Tori pulled her knees to her chest.

She felt so stupid for running from him like that, but she had to get away. Tori hit her head against the cement wall behind her and groaned. "Tori?" The voice didn't belong to Jason. "Tori is that you?"

"Shane?" Tori's eyes had adjusted to the lighting of the corner and she could see him.

"What are you doing back here?" A tear forced its way down Tori's cheek despite her efforts. "Tory?"

"Nothing. Go away." Tory couldn't stop her voice from cracking. Shane pushed an old snare drum aside and crouched down in front of her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Go away." Tori repeated.

"Why are you crying?"

"I'm not."

"You're not?" Shane reached out his hand and brushed away the tear that still lingered on her cheek. As soon as his skin touched hers, Tori felt a burning sensation in her cheeks. This is why she was crying. She liked Shane. Tori pushed his hand away, but Shane was persistent. "What's the matter?" Tori stood, her back still against the wall and Shane stood after her.

"Jason he… and I… but you…"

"Me?" Shane was thoroughly confused.

"Jason likes me as more than a friend and I don't. He's like the best friend I've ever had and now I think I may have ruined our friendship completely."

"That song Jason wrote, it was for you?"

"Yes. God, I'm such a bad person. He wrote me a song and I blew him off. He probably hates me."

"Jason could never hate you. I don't know who could." Tori felt a gentle hand on her face and Shane's warm breath on her nose. Suddenly his body was pressed against her and Shane kissed her. Tori's stomach twisted into knots and all she could do was kiss back. His hands found Tori's hands pressed them against the wall above their heads. Shane licked Tori's bottom lip and when she didn't open her mouth, he bit her lower lip. Tori whimpered a little, but opened her mouth, letting Shane's tongue explore.

Tori pulled her arms down and pushed on Shane's stomach. He retracted his tongue and gave her a little room. "Shane…" Another tear slipped down Tori's face. "I do like you, as more than a friend, but I can't do this to Jason." Tori slipped around Shane, leaving him in the corner. She went off looking for Jason. Tori found him sitting by himself behind the curtain that led backstage. She sat down beside him, she could see the hurt and anger in his eyes. "Jason…"

"What?"

"You're like my best friend…"

"Save it for someone who cares."

"Jason…"

"Why don't you go bug you're boyfriend?"

"What are you… Shane? You seen…"

"I saw everything." Jason stood, but Tori stayed on the ground.

"Jason, please. You're my best friend."

"Not anymore. Find another ride home." Tears streamed down Tori's face.

"Jason…" Jason walked away and Tori's stomach dropped to her toes. Jason disappeared backstage. Tears welled in her eyes, when she saw a blurry image of Shane standing in front of her. Tori tried to blink the tears away, but that just helped them fall. Shane lightly touched her knee, but Tori jerked away from him. "Jason hates me. He hates me."

A sob rushed through Tori's chest. Just another man who left a scar on her damaged life. Tori stood and went in the only direction she could, backstage. She had to find Sophie and Adam, she had to get out of there. Tori had finally gotten the tears to stop rolling while looking for Sophie and Adam. She found Sophie in a small room talking with Nate. "Where's Adam?" Sophie pointed to the other end of the room.

Adam was playing with Jason. As soon as Tori's eyes landed on Jason, her heart ached and she felt the tears start falling again. She turned and rushed out of the room. Tori heard Sophie tell Nate she'd be right back, then Sophie followed Tori into the hall. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just have to get out of here."

"You want to go home? I'll tell Jason…"

"No. We'll have to take a cab or something."

"Tori, what's going on?" A tear ran down Tori's cheek. Sophie had never seen her sister cry. Tori just shook her head. "You never cry. I know something is wrong." Tori took a deep breath.

**A/N: Okay, so I have up to chapter 10 witten on this story, but I'm not updating until I get at least five reviews...mwahahaha! so if you wanna know what happens next, review!**


	4. The Art of Friendship

**A/N: Ok so i decided to update anyway... cause im bored...so enjoy!! and REVIEW!!**

**Chapter 4: The Art of Friendship**

"Sophie, go in there, talk with Nate as long as you want. I'm fine, really. I'll be out here when you're done."

"But, why are you crying?" Tori wiped her face on the back of her hand.

"I'm not. Just go have fun." Sophie finally decided that Tori wasn't going to tell her so she went back into the room.

"Can anyone tell me what's wrong with my sister?" Nate and Jason both shook their heads. Nate because he didn't know, Jason because he was still mad.

"I can." Shane said entering the room starring down Jason. "Jason ripped her heart out and stomped on it."

"I ripped _her_ hear out. I think you got your facts wrong."

"You don't get what you did, do you? She looks at you and sees a best friend, a person she can go to no matter what, someone who'd love her through thick and thin because that's what best friends do."

"Like a backstabbing brother like you could possibly understand anything. That's right, I saw you two."

"So you heard her say she couldn't be with me because it would hurt you too much?" Jason was silent. "Yeah, even though you hurt her, she would never hurt you purposely."

"You think I want her to be hurt? Besides, she hurt me first." Jason didn't realize how pathetic that sounded until after he said it.

"Like that really matters? I don't know what you want, and I don't care. All I know is that you just added another scar to her collection." Shane had heard all about her life and so did Nate, thanks to Brad, but they had went to Jason and he had cleared everything up.

"She's the one who hurt me."

"You can't force someone to be in love with you Jason. She could barely stand to tell you the truth because it would hurt you and in return, you hurt her so deep that she can't look at you without crying." A tear streamed down Jason's face.

"I…I didn't want to hurt her."

"You did." Shane left the room and Jason could feel hot tears run down his face. Sophie and Nate were starring at him. Jason walked out of the room and caught a glimpse of Tori disappearing down the hall.

"Tori!" He called as he ran after her. Jason caught up to her. "Tori, please listen to me." Tori faced him, but had trouble making eye contact. "I'm sorry for what I did and how I acted."

"No, Jason I'm sorry." Tori said finally meeting his eyes with her own. "You tell me you want to be more than friends and I run off and kiss your brother. I can't imagine how horrible that made you feel."

"That doesn't give me the right to bite your head off. And I'm sorry."

"Friends?"

"Friends." Jason said pulling Tori into a hug. Tori pulled back from him and smiled, but then the smile dropped and her eyes shifted to the ground.

"I um…"

"Shane?"

"Yeah…"

"Go find him." Tori looked up, eyes locking with Jason's. "I'm serious. I'm not gonna stand between the two of you." Jason brushed a piece of stray hair from Tori's eyes. "You deserve to be happy."

"I've never needed a guy to make me happy and I never will."

"I know… but don't you think it might make you a little _more_ happy."

"It doesn't matter. Besides, when Shane realizes what he got himself into, he'd regret it." Tori said with a fake smile. Shane had come back and heard her and Jason talking.

"I couldn't regret being with you, ever." Tori looked passed Jason to see Shane standing there. Jason took his queue well. He smiled slightly at Tori then walked back down the hall.

"Shane…" Shane took a step toward Tori and grabbed her hands. Tori refused eye contact.

"Tori look at me. Tori." Tori finally looked up into his chocolate brown eyes. Shane smiled. "I like you… a lot. And I know I usually come off as immature and cocky, but I don't say things like that for no reason. I really do like you." Tori smiled for a moment, but then her eyebrows scrunched and a tear race down her cheek. Shane brushed it away, but Tori backed away from him.

"Shane… I really like you too, but I can't do this." Tori turned to leave, but Shane grabbed her wrist.

"Tori… why?" So many excuses ran through her mind, but she couldn't tell him the real reason.

"I…I don't know."

"You said you like me, so then why?" Tori knew if she were to tell him the truth, she'd start crying and that was the last thing she wanted to do.

"I just can't." Tori tried to jerk her hand away from Shane, but his grip was firm, almost painfully so.

"Tori, why?" Despite her efforts, a tear popped out of her eye and slid down her cheek. _Damn Shane and his persistency._

"Let go." Was all Tori managed to say. Shane released her and Tori rubbed her red wrist.

"I'm sorry…" Tori tried to get around Shane, but he blocked her. "Tori, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" More tears forced their way down Tori's face as she tried vainly to get around Shane. Shane gently grabbed her upper arms. "Tori, stop it."

"Just please, let me go."

"Why?"

"Because I can't do this in front of you."

"What?"

"Cry."

"It's okay Tori. You don't have to hide from me." Tori stopped struggling and looked at Shane.

"Shane, please, I really can't do this."

"Why?" Tori knew Shane wouldn't settle for anything, but the truth.

"Because the more time you spend with me, the more you'll realize you should've never got evolved. And you'll hate me like everyone else, its better that you don't know me. You're too good for me."

"Is that really what you think?" Shane didn't realize how deep Tori's hurt went until now. Tori was looking at the floor again, but she nodded her head slightly as a tear splashed onto the tile. "I told you before, but I'm gonna say it again. I could never hate you. Ever." Shane lifted Tori's chin with his finger and let his lips lightly trail over hers. He was so gentle, so understanding, so perfect.

Tori let her arms drape over Shane's shoulders and she played with the back of his hair as he pulled her closer. Shane licked Tori's bottom lip and she didn't need persuasion this time to grant him entrance. She just barely parted her lips and Shane gently forced his tongue into her mouth. A rush shot through Shane when his tongue met Tori's and he acted on it. He pushed Tori against the wall, his left knee pressing between her legs. Tori moaned slightly as Shane's hands trailed over her side and his tongue continued to explore her mouth. Tori had never felt more safe in any man's arms than she did right then. It was then Tori realized how well their bodies fit together, even their fingers laced together perfectly.

Shane stopped kissing her and rested his forehead against hers. "Does this mean you'll go out with me?" Shane made a pouty face, eliminating all chances of Tori saying no.

"Yeah." Shane lifted his head and kissed Tori's forehead. "So what now?" Shane backed up a few steps and glanced down at his watch.

"Actually me, Nate, and Jason should get home. We've gotta get up early tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's Sunday."

"I know, we go to church tomorrow morning."

"Oh. I uh… didn't know you guys are religious."

"We're not."

"But you said…"

"It's not a religion. It's a relationship."

"With Jesus?" Tori said in a mocking tone.

"You don't believe in God?"

"I find it hard to believe in an all-powerful God who lets so many horrible things happen and if he does exist I don't think I want anything to do with a God who lets people get murdered and raped and just sit up in his paradise watching everyone else suffer."

"You really think God's just sitting up there doing nothing? The bible says…"

"Look, don't get all preachy on me, alright? My mom tried the whole Jesus thing and look where it got her. She's dead, leaving her three kids behind to fend for themselves, so don't try the 'Jesus loves you' thing. Cause if He really did, my mom would still be here." Shane figured he'd drop it for now, that was a conversation for another day.

"Okay. We should go." Tori nodded and followed Shane down the hall back into the room. Everyone's eyes fell on Tori and Shane as the entered the room. "We uh… should get going." Jason and Nate agreed and they all headed out to the limo accompanied by their body guard/limo driver, Big Rob. The ride back to Tori's apartment was filled with awkward silence until Adam broke into the silence.

"Why is so stinkin' quiet in here?" The way Adam said it sent waves of laughter throughout the limo. "What?" Adam whined. He didn't understand what was so funny. Jason ruffled Adam's hair.

"Nothing, bud, nothing."

"You know what always gets sore throats gone?" Shane said randomly.

"What?" Tori asked, taking the bait.

"Eat a bowl of sugar." Shane said in an all-knowing voice.

"A bowl of sugar?" Tori repeated, raising her eyebrow. Shane nodded.

"Pour water on it and just drink it. My mom tried it with me once."

"And then he turned out the way he is, so I don't know if you really wanna do that." Jason put in. Everyone, except Shane, laughed. Shane put his hand on his chest and wiped away a fake tear.

"That hurt Jason. It really hurt." Tori gave Shane a small hug.

"I'm so sorry Shane." She said with fake sympathy. "You should be ashamed of yourself Jason, making Shane cry like that." It was all Tori could do not to laugh when Jason stuck his bottom lip out and looked down at his hands.

"I sorwee." Jason said like a true two-year-old. Nate and Sophie were cracking up throughout the whole escapade. And finally, Shane and Tori broke and started laughing again, but Jason remained strong. "Stop laughin' at me." His toddler speech sent everyone into deeper laughter. After a minute of resisting, a smile grew on Jason's face and he broke into laughter as well. Before they knew it, they were back at the apartment.

Tori, Sophie, and Adam got out first followed by the other three. "We'll walk you up." Shane said looking at Tori. They walked up to their apartment door.

"Can I talk to you for a minute Shane?" Sophie and Adam disappeared into the apartment and Nate dragged Jason back down to the limo. "I um… I'm not exactly sure how to say this." Shane placed a hand on the side on Tori's face, forcing her eyes to meet him."

"Whatever it is, you can tell me."

"Shane… I really _want_ to go out with you, but I can't."

"T…"

"Just hear me out okay? Think about it. What if it was opposite? What if you were the best friend and Jason was in your position. What would he do?"

"Nothing. He'd probably keep his feelings to himself." Shane said without thinking.

"And why would he do that?"

"Because he's my brother, and he'd never want to hurt me like that." He answered, finally realizing what Tori was getting at

"You have to understand, Shane. I really do like you, but I can't risk loosing Jason as my friend." Shane nodded in understanding. "Maybe it just wasn't meant to be." Shane flinched at that sentence.

"I guess I should go. Friend?"

"Friend." Tori said nodding. Shane hugged her, then disappeared down the hall. Tori opened the door, hitting something in the process.

"Ow!" Sophie yelled. Tori laughed.

"This is why we don't eavesdrop. Are you okay?" Sophie nodded.

"I will be once you tell me what happened out there."

"Where's Adam?"

"Sent him to bed." Tori sighed.

"Alright. It's pretty short actually. Me and Shane are just friends."

"Mmhmm. Okay. Sure."

"I'm serious Sophie."

"Yeah, just like Edward and Bella are _just_ friends."

"You know what Sophie? You make one more Twilight reference I'm taking those books and burning them."

"Oh, changing the subject are we?"

"No. Me and Shane _are _just friends. And I'm serious about the books."

"Whatever. You and Shane make such a cute couple. You'd have gorgeous children."

"Stop it Sophie. I'm serious, we are just friends."

"Victoria Amelia Gray. Has a nice ring to it don't you think?"

"Sophie…" Tori warned.

"Shane Gray juniors. That'll be interesting."

"Sophie, stop!"

"Mmm. Defensive are we?"

"Shut up and leave it alone. I'm serious."

"Fine."

"Thank you."

"One more thing. Can I be the maid-of-honor?"

"Sophie!"

"Alright. I'm done. Sheesh. A bit sensitive today." Even sisters can be ignorant sometimes. "Ohh." Something finally clicked in Sophie's head. "Something changed while you were talking to him. What did you do?"

"Nothing. We're just friends."

"Why??" Sophie whined. She had always been a sucker for romance. "You two are so cute together."

"Stop saying that."

"But it's true."

"Fine, you want to know everything? Sit down and I'll walk you through it." Sophie and Tori sat in the living room as Tori explained everything that had happen after the song.

"Okay, so Jason likes you, but you like Shane and Shane likes you, but you can't be with Shane because Jason is your best friend and you don't want to hurt him." Sophie summarized quickly. Tori nodded. "Wow…"

"Yeah." Tori glance at the microwave clock, which read 2:30am. She was about to tell Sophie to go to bed, when the home phone rang. "Who in the world is calling this late?" Tori grabbed the phone and pressed talk. "Hello?"

"Hey, Tori. Did I wake you?" Tori sighed.

"No. I've been up. I thought you needed to sleep, for church and all."

"I can't sleep, I've been thinking about you." Tori smiled.

"Can you uh… hold on a second, Shane?"

"Of course." Tori covered the phone receiver with her hand and stood up.

"I'm gonna go to my room." Tori whispered.

"Fine… but you're telling me everything later." Tori nodded and walked into her room.

"Hey, I'm back."

"I missed you."

"You're a dork."

"I am not a…"

"I didn't say it was a bad thing. I like dorks."

"Well maybe I am a dork, then."

"So what's up? I mean why did you call?"

"Just wanted to talk. So why are you still awake? It's almost three in the morning."

"I was talking to Sophie."

"Oh, what about?"

"You know, girl stuff."

"Ooh, like boy, girl stuff."

"Nosy are we?"

"Not nosy, just… interested."

**So whadya think?? Tell me!! Good/Bad/Indifferent?? let me know! press the purple/blue button!! REVIEW!!**


	5. Coffee, Stitches, and More Coffee

**Chapter 5...REVIEW!!**

**Chapter 5: Coffee, Stitches, and More Coffee**

It was two o'clock in the afternoon, when Tori heard her door open. She blinked her eyes open and looked over to see Sophie standing in the doorway. "Morning sleepy-head." Tori groaned.

"What time is it?"

"Passed two."

"In the afternoon?" Tori said sitting up. Sophie nodded.

"Up late last night? Talking to Shane?" A smile played on Sophie's lips. "What time did you go to bed?"

"Uh… Five, six o'clock."

"Wow. You two must be real good '_just friends_'." Tori grabbed her extra pillow and chucked it at Sophie, although morning fatigued her muscles and the pillow didn't do much damage.

"Why'd you wake me up anyway?"

"Just letting you know Shane called. He said he wanted to get together sometime tonight, but don't call him until four-ish, cause he's taken a nap. I wonder why."

"Thanks. I'm getting up." Sophie shut the door and Tori threw her covers to the side. She searched her closet for something to wear. She finally settled on a pair of grey knee length sweat-shorts and a purple tank top, for the time being anyway. Tori took a shower then sat down on the living room couch, next to Adam, who was watching a tape of cartoons they'd had since Sophie was little. "Morning." Adam snuggled into Tori's side, without looking away from his cartoons.

"More like afternoon." Adam said, eyes still not moving from the TV. Tori smiled and wrapped her arm around Adam. They watched cartoons together for an hour, when the phone rang. Tori slipped from Adam's small arms and grabbed the phone off the counter.

"Hello?"

"Good afternoon." The voice was announcer-like, but Tori still knew who it was. "I am a representative of the self-proclaimed, Sir Hotty-McHot Pants."

"Hi Nate."

"Not Nate, Nicholas. Representative of the self-proclaimed Sir Hotty-McHot Pants." Nate responded with the same announcer-like voice. _"Give me the phone!"_ Tori heard Shane yell in the background.

"So, Nicholas, is there a reason for this… interesting call?" Nate cleared his throat.

"Yes…" Just then, Tori heard the phone clatter to the floor and a loud thud. A moment later Tori heard Shane's voice."

"Hello." He sounded winded.

"Hi Sir Hotty-McHot Pants." Shane took his mouth away from the receiver.

"I'm gonna kill you Nate!"

"I don't think Sophie would appreciate you killing Nate." Tori said, still laughing.

"Well then tell Sophie I apologize, but her boyfriend is about to be murdered."

"Um… I think that could be incriminating evidence at your trial."

"Fine, I won't kill him. But only because I'm too pretty for prison." Tori laughed.

"So what is the meaning of this call?"

"Well, I made the mistake of mentioning my plans of calling you so we could get together and talk tonight to Nate. And he took that as an invitation to call you and make fun of me before I got the chance to talk to you."

"So did Nate make up the 'Sir Hotty-McHot Pants' thing?"

"Not exactly. One time a couple years ago, I may have referred to myself as Sir Hotty-McHot Pants and my bothers never let it go."

"I won't either."

"Great."

"So you said something about getting together tonight?"

"Oh yeah. Right. I thought maybe we could go to Starbucks or something and talk."

"You didn't get enough of my talking last night?"

"I could never tire of your sweet voice." Shane the charmer.

"I might be able to, what time?"

"Let's say around, five-ish?"

"Sounds good, I'll talk to you then."

"Yep."

"Bye." Tori hung up the phone and walked down the hall to Sophie's room. She knocked on the door. "Hey, Soph. You in there?"

"Yeah, come in." Tori opened the door.

"I was just wondering if you could watch Adam tonight, five to like, whatever."

"Sure. Why?"

"Me and Shane are gonna grab some coffee."

"Coffee, hmm?"

"Yes, just coffee. Casual coffee."

"No, see lunch is casual. Coffee means you wanna go on a date, but want it to sound casual."

"Whatever, it's just coffee. Thanks for watching Adam." Tori shut the door as she left the room. Just as the clock hit five o'clock, there was a knock on the door. Tori opened the door. "Good timing." Tori looked over her shoulder. "I should definitely be back before nine, so behave, I've got my cell if you need anything."

Things were going well. Tori and Shane had been sitting at a table in Starbucks for almost two hours asking all kinds of questions to one another, getting to know each other as friends. That was until Shane touched on a sensitive subject, God. "So if you don't believe in God, what do you believe in?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know what you believe in?" Truth was, Tori had thought about what to believe in many times, but she couldn't make up her mind. All of the facts of evolution were corrupt and most didn't make sense, but she was too pissed at God to believe in Him. But then she'd think, how could she be pissed at someone who doesn't exist? If He didn't exist, that is.

"I don't know what to believe. I mean I know evolution can't be right. Even I'm smart enough to figure out that when a hypothesis jumps to a Scientific Law without facts to support it, there's something wrong, actually, there's a lot wrong. But God? Tell me, how do you place your trust in somebody who's failed you so many times?"

"Tell _me_ something, did God fail you, or did people fail you?"

"But if God's all-powerful and stuff, then why does he let people do horrible stuff?"

"You like having free-will right? You wouldn't want to be a robot, a slave to someone else's will."

"No…"

"Well you can't fault God for giving us the right to choose. He doesn't want to force us to believe in him, where's the love in that? He wants us to choose Him, He had to put His only son on the cross to die one of worst imaginable deaths, that's how much He loves us. Isn't that incredible? That the One Almighty God loves us, as sinners."

"I don't know..."

"Just think about it, I mean seriously. Think about it."

"I will." Shane smiled at her, when Tori felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. "Hold on, my phone's ringing." Tori grabbed her cell from her pocket. "Hello?"

"Tori."

"Hey, Soph. What's up?"

"I'm in an ambulance on my way to the hospital with Adam."

"What?! What happened?"

"I only left the room for one second, I swear!"

"Sophie just calm down. What happened?"

"It's not that bad according to the paramedics. A glass shattered on his foot and he's got to get stitches and he may have a concussion from when he fainted after he saw the blood."

"What hospital?"

"I'm so sorry Tori."

"What hospital?!"

"Saint Peter's."

"I'll be there as soon as I can." Tori hung up.

"What's going on?" Shane asked.

"Adam's going to the hospital. He's gotta get stitches and might have a concussion." Shane and Tori stood at the same time.

"She said Saint Peter's right? I can drive you there." It was a thirty-minute drive to the hospital and Shane had no idea what he could say. About five minutes into the drive, he grabbed her hand. "Do you mind if I pray?" Tori just shook her head, it couldn't hurt right? The rest of the way there Shane prayed for protection, healing, and comfort keeping his hand wrapped tightly around Tori's. Shane pulled into the emergency room entrance and walked Tori to the information desk.

"Excuse me miss…"

"Take a seat and the doctor will be with you soon."

"Actually I need a room number." The lady looked up at Tori for the first time.

"What's the… Oh my gosh. You're Shane Gray!" She said switching her attention from Tori to Shane. Shane only nodded.

"Yes, he is, but about that room number…" Tori said, trying to stay patient.

"Can I get an autograph, for my little sister? She absolutely adores Connect 3."

"Sure." The lady handed Shane a piece of paper and a pen.

"Make it out to Annie." Tori glanced down at the lady's beat-up nametag which read, Andrea. _Little sister my foot._ Shane handed her the piece of paper back. "Oh, thank you. Whose room number did you need?"

"Adam Strib."

"Uh… it's looked like he's still in with the doctor. If you go down that hall right there it'll lead you right into a waiting room." Shane nodded.

"Thank you." Tori followed Shane down the hall and sat in the chair next to him. Shane grabbed her hand again. "Adam is going to be fine." Tori only nodded.

"Tori!" Sophie had spotted them. Tori stood and hugged her sister. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't…"

"Don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault." Sophie smiled as Tori sat back down and Shane returned his hand in hers. Sophie took the seat next to Tori.

"Just friends?" Sophie whispered. Tori ignored her. It was eight-thirty by the time the doctor came out.

"Family of Adam Strib?" The doctor spoke into the waiting room. Tori stood and walked over to the doctor followed by Shane and Sophie. "Hi, I'm Doctor Haughty. Adam is doing great. He got thirty-two stitches in his right foot, but beside that and a small headache, he's fine. No concussion and he should be free to go by mid-night."

"Can we see him?"

"Of course. He's in room 207."

"Thank you."

"No problem." Tori, Sophie, and Shane walked into Adam's room. The hospital bed made him look so little.

"Hey guys! What took you so long?" Tori smiled as she sat down in the chair next to his bed.

"Sorry, are we late?"

"Yeah, you missed the episode of Tom and Jerry, when Jerry gets the ring stuck on his head." Tom and Jerry was Adam's favorite show.

"I love that episode." And apparently, Shane's too. Shane stood next to Tori and Sophie sat on the other side of the bed.

"So how's your foot feeling?" Tori asked.

"Good, they gave me some medicine so I can't even feel it. My head hurts a little though."

"Do you want me to kiss it?"

"Toriii, not it front of Shane." Adam whined.

"Getting too much of a man to get kisses?" Tori teased.

"I'm not too much of a man to get kisses!" Shane proclaimed proudly.

"Eww." Adam pretended to gag. Tori moved so she was sitting on the bed and kissed the top of Adam's head. Adam wiped at his hair vigorously. "Toriii."

"I got you." Tori laughed.

"That's not fair!" It was ten o'clock. Tori was sitting on the bed with Adam, still watching cartoons. She glanced over at Shane, who was dozing off, but trying to stay awake.

"Shane." Tori whispered, trying not to disturb the sleeping Adam on her lap. Shane looked at her, eyes heavy with exhaustion, he definitely never got that nap. "Why don't you go home? You look exhausted." Shane shook his head.

"I'm your ride, remember. Besides, I'm pretty sure I'd fall asleep driving."

"Then stop making yourself stay awake. Take a nap." Shane yawned.

"No, I'm good." Tori pushed Adam off her lap, resting him gently on the pillow.

"Alright if you're not gonna take a nap, let's take a walk." Shane stood to his feet after Tori. And they walked out into the hallway, shielding their eyes from the sudden light. "Want some coffee?"

"Mmm, coffee good."

"Alright caveman, to the cafeteria." Tori paid for two cups of coffee, since Shane was acting like a dead-man-walking, and they sat down at a table. Shane took a sip of the coffee and gazed across the table at Tori. "You look really tired."

"Well, considering I barely got two hours of sleep last night…"

"I thought you took a nap."

"I was going to, but we **(to clear up any confusion, Shane was talking about him and his family)** went out to eat, then Nate made that call, then we **(as in Shane and Tori)** went out. Just didn't have time."

"Why won't you go to sleep then?" Shane shrugged and took another sip of coffee. "Alright Shane, we're gonna go back to Adam's room and you can lay on the bed with him and sleep."

"Tor…"

"No _if_, _ands_, or _buts_. You need to sleep or you're gonna collapse from exhaustion." Tori dragged Shane back up to the room. He lied back on the bed next to Adam and Tori sat in the chair. Shane was asleep within five minutes and Tori was about to fall asleep when she light from the hallway flooded into the room, someone had opened the door.

"Hello?" Tori stood.

"Shhh! Out." She whispered, Jason and Nate obeyed. "Sorry, everyone's sleeping."

"Why didn't you tell us Adam is in the hospital?" Jason asked.

"I… how did you guys get up here? Visiting hours are over."

"We've got special powers." Nate said smiling. "Is Shane here? He hasn't been answering his cell."

"Yeah, he's sleeping. I tried to convince him to go home, but he wouldn't." Tori answered. Jason smiled.

"How are you doing?"

"Good. A little tired, but Adam's gonna be fine so I'm all good."

"_Tori!"_ Adam called from inside the room. Tori pushed the door open and walked to Adam's side of the bed.

"Yeah Adam?"

"I woke up and you were gone." There was a slight pause. "Why is Shane in my bed?"

"Because he's tired." Adam nodded. "Go back to sleep. I'll be in the hallway."

"Okay." Nate and Jason were still in the hallway.

"Everyone's asleep, but you can hang around if you want. There's a cafeteria and stuff, just follow the signs." They both nodded.

"Alright. We're gonna run down to the cafeteria and grab some coffee, then we'll be right back."

"Okay." Tori went back into the room and sat down in the chair. About ten minutes later Nate and Jason came back into the room, waking Sophie up in the process.

"Oh, hey Nate."

"Hi Sophie." Tori smiled, talk about a cute couple. Sophie stood from her chair.

"Wanna go for a walk or something?"

"Sure." Nate nodded and they left the room together.


	6. Got Me Going Crazy

**Chapter 6: Got Me Going Crazy**

It was almost one in the morning when the nurse came in to inform Tori they were all set to go. Tori gently shook Shane awake. "Shane." She whispered. He mumbled something about a pony, then flipped on his side. Tori shook him a little harder. "Shane." Shane opened his eyes.

"Wha…?"

"Come on, Adam's free to go." Shane sat up and rubbed his eyes. Tori walked to the other side of the bed and scooped Adam up in her arms, without waking him. It was then Sophie realized Jason was asleep too. "Shane, wake Jason up." Without hesitating, Shane grabbed a pillow and chucked it at Jason. Jason straightened immediately.

"Let's go, Jase." Jason stood.

"Where's Sophie and Nate?" Jason asked as they walked out into the hall. Tori glanced around instinctively.

"They're probably down in the cafeteria." Tori answered. "Could one of you call Nate?" Shane nodded and pulled his cell phone from his pocket.

"Hey, Nate?"

"_Yeah?"_

"Where are you?"

"_In the cafeteria with Sophie. Is something wrong?"_

"No, but we're leaving."

"_Alright, we'll meet you by the exit."_

"Okay, bye."

"_Bye."_ Shane shoved the phone back into his pocket.

"Nate said they'll meet us down there. Do you want me to take Adam?" Tori shook her head.

"No, I got him." Jason and Nate drove back to their house separately as Shane drove Tori, Sophie, and Adam back to the apartment. Shane parked and lifted Adam out of the backseat. Tori and Sophie led Shane into the apartment and he laid Adam down in his bed. "Are you okay to drive home by yourself?" Tori asked once they were back in the living room.

"Yeah, I should be fine." Shane said yawning.

"Are you sure, cause I'd really like to stay out of the hospital for at least a few more days." He smiled.

"I think I can handle it."

"I'll see you later."

"Tomorrow, actually."

"Well, depending on how Adam's doing I might not be at school tomorrow." Shane nodded.

"Then I will see later."

"Yeah, but for my piece of mind, would you call me when get home, so I know you didn't fall asleep at the wheel or anything."

"Sure." Shane kissed Tori on the cheek and walked out the door. Twenty minutes later Tori was happy to receive a call from Shane. "You happy? I'm home and still alive."

"Yes, I'm very happy."

"Now, I need my beauty sleep, so I'll call you tomorrow."

"Mmk, tomorrow. Night."

"Night." Tori was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. The next morning Tori dropped Sophie off at school and stayed at home with Adam for the rest of the day. Jason brought Sophie back home so Tori wouldn't have to drive back out. Sophie walked in the door at 3:45 and dropped some multi-colored folders in Tori's lap.

"Here's your homework, and something from a… Sir Hotty-McHot Pants?" Sophie said looking at the manila envelope still in her hands.

"Shane." Sophie dropped it on the other folders.

"Oh." Taking 'Shane' as a sufficient answer, Sophie walked to her room. Tori opened the manila envelope and pulled out a couple pages of lined paper stapled behind one sheet of plain paper. Written in thick red sharpie on the front of the packet was, 'I MISSED YOU AT SCHOOL TODAY!'. Tori smiled and flipped the page. Witten on the next two pieces of paper were the lyrics to a song.

Hey there pretty lady  
Tell me how you doing  
Tell me what can I do to help  
Cause I've been  
Thinking of you  
For a little while now  
This right here  
Is how I feel

Girl you got me goin' crazy  
Knocked me off my feet  
Now you got me beggin' baby  
Beggin' baby, please  
All I wanna know  
Is do you wanna get away  
Get away with me  
Cause girl  
I don't know what to do  
Cause I'm so  
In love with you

Head over my heels  
Yeah I know how I feel  
Girl you know that I'm in love  
Oh, I was so lonely  
Now I know you love me  
This right here  
Is how I feel

Girl you got me goin' crazy  
Knocked me off my feet  
Now you got me beggin' baby  
Beggin' baby, please  
All I wanna know  
Is do you wanna get away  
Get away with me  
Cause girl  
I don't know what to do  
Cause I'm so  
In love with you

All I wanna know  
Is do you wanna get away

Girl you got me goin' crazy  
Knocked me off my feet  
Now you got me beggin' baby  
Girl, I'm on my knees  
All I wanna know  
Is do you wanna get away  
Get away with me  
Cause girl  
I don't know what to do  
Cause I'm so in love  
So in love  
So in love with you

Tori flipped to the last page of the packet, it was a note.

'Hey Tori, I know what you said about Jason is right and I got it, but I thought you should know how I feel. Song is one of the only real ways I can express that. I really do like you and I really do want to be with you, even if it has to be in secret. I'm gonna be at the Starbucks we went to until five. If you don't show up, I understand, but I'd really like you to come.' –Shane

Tori stood to her feet, slipping the papers back into the manila envelope. She tossed the envelope onto her bed and got ready. She knocked on Sophie's door. "Hey Soph, I'm gonna step out, I'll be back in a few hours."

"Ok!"

"Call me if you need anything. Adam's still napping." Tori grabbed her keys and headed down to her car. It was 4:50 when she arrived at the Starbucks, Shane was sitting a table in the back, checking his phone for the time. Tori slipped into the seat across from him.

"Tori! I was beginning to think you weren't going to show up."

"I had to come. I couldn't let you think I don't feel the same way, cause I do. If we… do this, no one can know, to everyone else we're just friends." Shane nodded.

"I know. I love you Tori and I'll do whatever it takes." Tori nearly choked on her own spit. Love? Yeah he wrote it in the song, but he just _said_, 'I love you…'. "You okay?" Tori nodded.

"Yeah… yeah, everything is…" Tori looked up at Shane and smiled. "Perfect. Everything's perfect."


	7. Can’t Have You

**Chapter 7: Can't Have You**

Shane and Tori had been secretly dating for over two months, and it was almost time for winter vacation. Tori and Jason's friendship had gone back to normal and there was no longer any awkwardness between them. Nate and Sophie had been officially together for two months on the nose and Adam had already gotten his stitches out. Everything seemed to be going great, everyone was hanging out backstage at a concert when Tori realized Shane was missing. "Hey, what happened to Shane?" Jason shrugged.

"I dunno, last I saw he was talking with some girls outside."

"I'll go see if I can find him, we probably should be leaving soon." Tori walked down the hall and pushed the door open. Cold engulfed her body as she stepped out into the winter night. Tori cursed herself for not bringing her coat out with her. She spotted Shane and was about to walk over to him, when she realized he was with two beautiful girls. He pulled one of them into a hug and kissed her on the cheek. They talked for another minute, laughing together. Tori turned on her heels and started back towards the door, when Shane cut her off.

"Tor, what are you doing out here? Without a coat?" Shane stood in front of her and Tori was unable to hold back a tear that ran down her cheek. Shane reached out and brushed it away with his gloved hand. "Hey. What's wrong?"

"I… I can't do this anymore Shane. I can't pretend anymore."

"Tori, you know why we have to pretend."

"I know, but I just can't do it anymore. I can't sit back and watch you flirt with girls and pretend it doesn't bother me. And the whole Demi thing…"

"I told you, that's just a publicity thing…"

"Shane, I'm sorry, but we can't do this anymore." Tears fell freely down Tori's cheeks as she turned and walked back inside. She wiped her face and found everyone else. "We should get going guys." Jason looked at her.

"What's wrong." _Damn tears._

"Nothing." Jason glared at Shane as he walked up behind Tori.

"Tori, can we…"

"We really should go." Tori said, acting as if she hadn't heard Shane.

"Yeah, we should." Jason said. They all walked out to the mini-van they'd used to get everyone there. Believe it or not, celebrities don't always travel in limos. Jason sat in the driver's seat and everyone else piled in the back, except Tori who had decided to sit in the passenger seat. Tori rested her head against the cold window. The car ride seemed to drag on for hours even though it was only thirty minutes. Tori jumped out of the car and rushed up to the apartment followed by Sophie and Adam.

Tori was in her room with the door closed before Sophie and Adam got into the apartment. Tori looked at the manila envelope that sat on her nightstand with tears running down her face. For the next week, Tori kept herself busy with Christmas shopping and decorating so she would have time to think about Shane, but that was short lived since the Gray' had invited them over to spend Christmas Day with them. Mrs. Gray had told Tori to come over after lunch and they could spend the rest of the day together. It was a nice gesture, really, and Tori might have actually liked the idea, if she didn't have to face Shane. But at least Sophie and Adam were really excited about it. Christmas came too fast for Tori and not fast enough for Adam. They arrived on the doorstep of the Gray mansion at one on the dot.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't a mansion, but it was bigger than any house Tori could imagine living in. Mr. Gray answered the door and invited them inside, the rest of the welcoming committee was waiting just inside as well. Mrs. Gray, Jason, Shane, Nate, and Frankie **(wow… this is the first time I've mentioned Frankie, isn't it?)** were standing there waiting to greet them. Mrs. Gray showed them where to put their coats and told the boys to give them a grand tour of the house. The tour started in their gigantic basement that looked more like a professional recording studio, then moved on to their spacious living room, a kitchen made for a chef, and a master bedroom the queen of England could hardly object to, then journeyed up the stairs to their four bed room two and a half bath third floor, and finally ended with a quick show of their back yard of magnificent size.

"So what do you think?" Jason asked.

"Well considering our whole apartment could fit in your bathroom…" Sophie started.

"It's huge!" Adam yelled. Just then, Frankie, who had been helping his parents, ran in.

"It's present time!" Then Frankie was off.

"Presents?" Tori questioned.

"Yeah, it is Christmas." Jason said smiling.

"I guess I didn't think about it."

"Come on!" Adam said grabbing Tori's hand and dragging her forward.

"Alright, I'm coming." Tori sighed. Everyone gathered in the living room by the huge Christmas tree. Tori was worried. Either Adam wouldn't get a present cause Tori hadn't brought any and he'll be mad or these nice people bought him a present and Tori will feel bad because she hadn't thought to bring anything, at all. Mrs. Gray must have seen how worried Tori looked, because she leaned over and whispered,

"We've got it covered. You're here to be blessed, nothing else." Tori smiled feeling at ease, for the moment at least. Soon everyone was tearing into their gifts. They had gotten Adam a remote control car and a light-saver, Sophie got the cutest purse ever and a charm bracelet from Nate, and Tori got an iPod nano. Tori couldn't believe it.

"You really didn't have to do any of this, Mrs. Gray." Tori whispered to Mrs. Gray who was seated next to her on the couch.

"Denise. And we wanted to."

"Thank you so much Denise." Tori thanked her so many times, Tori got sick of herself. After everyone was finished Paul and Denise started to tell stories about the boys when they were younger. Paul was in the middle of his story about when Jason was three he refused to eat anything that wasn't green or purple, because those were the colors of Barney, when Tori noticed that Shane kept looking at her. Feeling uncomfortable Tori leaned over to Dense and whispered, "Mrs., I mean, Denise, do you mind if I get a glass of water?" Denise nodded.

"Go ahead." She whispered back and Tori headed toward the kitchen. She had filled a glass halfway with tap water, when a voice from behind startled her.

"You know we have filtered water in the fridge." Tori turned around to meet the eyes of Shane. Her eyes were wide, but narrowed a little after she recovered from the suddenness of his presence. "I uh… wanted to give you this…" Shane said handing Tori a small black velvet box. Tori popped it open revealing a golden, heart-shaped locket attached to a matching chain.

"Shane, I…"

"I'm sorry. I was stupid and I'm really sorry." Tori looked down and read the inscription on the front of it. _My Heart._ It stated simply. "This is my heart and it belongs to you." **(yes, I know it's corny, deal with it)**

"I uh… I just…" Tori stammered while backing up towards the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes." Tori escaped through the door and jumped into her car. She was just going to circle the block a few times, clear her head. Denise walked into the dinning room as soon as she heard the door close.

"Tori had to run get something, she'll be back soon." Shane answered, clutching the locket in his hand. His mom nodded and went back to the living room. Shane followed Tori outside just in time to see her pull out of the driveway. "Tori!" He called, but it was no use. Shane looked down at the necklace cradled in his palm as a tear slipped off his nose and splashed onto his hand. The screech of tires followed by the crash of metal forced Shane's eyes back towards the road.

Shane ran out to the end of the driveway. "Tori?" He whispered. He glanced at the intersection to his right, two cars had crashed into each other. Shane sighed when he realized that neither of them belonged to Tori, but then he spotted something else. A car on the other side of intersection upside-down in the ditch. A blue Saab, Tori's blue Saab. "Tori!"

Shane yelled as he ran towards the intersection, ignoring the cold that numbed his cheeks. He didn't stop until he was next to the blue blob of inverted metal and broken glass. He got down on his hands and knees and looked through the broken window. Tori was still buckled in, blood was everywhere, and Shane reached out to feel for a pulse. There was one, but barely. Shane forced the door open, placed one arm at the base of her neck, and the other behind her back. He managed to press the release button on her seat belt and Tori bloodied body fell into his strong arms. Shane carried her out toward the intersection.

"Somebody call 911!" He yelled. Shane saw three people grab their cell phone, then realized two of them were taking pictures. At least one person had a heart. The ambulance was there in less than two minutes and two EMT's took Tori from Shane, putting her on a stretcher and loaded her into the ambulance. Shane looked at one of the EMT's with tears in his eyes. "Can I ride with her?" The EMT nodded and Shane jumped into the ambulance.

He held onto Tori's hand the whole way to the hospital, but they wouldn't let him past the waiting room, two nurses had to hold him back. After ten minutes of being in the waiting room, Shane gained his head and called his parents.

"Hello?"

"Mom?"

"Shane! Honey, where are you? Where's Tori?" A sob rushed through Shane's body.

"I'ma… I'm at the hospital, mom."

"What's going on? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's Tori, she was in a car accident." Shane let the tears fall. "It didn't look good."

"Hang on babe, we'll be right there."

"Ok."

"I love you. Hang in there."

"Love you too mom." Shane shoved the phone in his pocket and collapsed into one of the waiting room chairs. He rested his head in his hands and tears dripped through the gaps between his fingers. A few minutes passed and Shane felt a hand brush his shoulder, when he looked up he saw his mom sitting on his left and his dad on his right. Nate and Sophie were a couple of chairs away and Nate was trying to comfort a crying Sophie. Adam and Frankie were playing, oblivious to everything and Jason was next to Denise, fighting to hold back the tears. They waited a long six hours, before the doctor came out. Everyone stood as he approached.

"Are you the family of Tori Strib?" Everyone nodded. "She made it through the surgery, but we won't know the extent of the damage until tomorrow."

"Can we see her?" Shane asked, tears welling up in his eyes again.

"You can go in one at a time for a few minutes each. She's in a medicine induced coma so she won't respond, but you can go in and see her."

"Can…can she hear us?"

"Well, some people say they could hear things while in a coma but we have to proof either way." Shane nodded. "So who wants to go in first?" Shane glanced over at Sophie and nodded his head slightly.

"I'll go." She said. About five minutes later Sophie came back.

"How is she?" Shane asked, but Sophie just shook her head and started crying into Nate's shoulder again. Shane followed the nurse to Tori's room. When he walked in, he thought for sure they had gotten the wrong room. He looked back at the nurse, who reassured him it was the correct room then left. Shane sat in the chair next to her bed. Tori had tube's coming out and going in everywhere. She was hooked up to at least four machines and her breathing was mechanical and unnatural.

Shane place his hand over her pale limp arm. "Hey Tor. I uh… I don't know if you can hear me, but I just wanted to leave this with you." Shane placed the locket on the end table, he smiled half-heartedly. "My heart, will always belong to you, like it has since the first moment I saw you." Tears started to fall again, but Shane wiped them away. "I wrote this song after what happened, I was gonna play it for you after dinner. Here it goes…"

You warned me that you were gonna leave  
I never thought you would really go  
I was blind but baby now I see  
Broke your heart but now I know  
That I was being such a fool  
And I didn't deserve you

I don't wanna fall asleep  
Cause I don't know if I'll get up  
And I don't wanna cause a scene  
But I'm dyin' without your love  
I'm beggin' to hear your voice  
Tell me you love me too  
Cause I'd rather just be alone  
If I know that I can't have you

Tears rushed through Shane and he couldn't continue the song, the chorus meant something very different. It killed Shane to think that she might not make it through. "You really love her, don't you?" Jason had been standing in the doorway since Shane started the chorus. Shane looked back at Jason and more tears fell.

"Yeah." His voice cracked as his shoulders shook with a sob. Jason put a hand on Shane's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Shane." Shane could hear the tears in Jason's voice. "I'm sorry I put a wedge in your relationship with Tori." All Shane could do was nod. "Come on, we should go. Mom and dad still want to see her."

"I don't want to leave her, Jason. Not again."

"You don't have to leave her, you just have to leave the room." Shane stood and walked back to the waiting room with Jason.

Tori woke up. _Why is it so dark in here?_ She thought, then realized her eyes were closed. _Why can't I open my eyes?_ Pain was everywhere, but tried to ignore it because she could hear Shane. He sounded so far away. Finally his voice was clear enough to hear.

"My heart will always belong to you…" But then a shot of pain spread up her body and she lost his voice for a minute. When she heard it again, he was singing.

"And I don't wanna cause a scene  
But I'm dyin' without your love  
I'm beggin' to hear your voice  
Tell me you love me too  
Cause I'd rather just be alone  
If I know that I can't have you"

He was crying. _Shane!_ Tori tried to scream, but nothing came out. She was feeling dizzy again, and fell back into sleep.

Shane sat in the waiting room, defeated. Tears wouldn't fall anymore, but his body still quivered with sobs. It was one in the morning, the day after Christmas. His mom and dad had taken Adam and Frankie back to their house for the night, but Jason, Shane, Sophie, and Nate still waited. Everyone was exhausted, but no one could sleep. At three in the morning the doctor came out and told them Tori was back in surgery. Shane heard Jason praying silently next to him and he started praying silently too.

After ten minutes, Shane was finally able to doze off, even if it was only off and on for a couple hours. It was eight in the morning when Shane deemed it hopeless to try to fall back asleep. He stood up and stretched his tired legs. Jason had just woken up as well. "We should go home, Shane. Freshen up and get some real sleep, we'll come back in a couple hours."

"You guys can go, I'll stay here."

"Come on, Shane. You could use the sleep." Shane reluctantly agreed to go back home, but only because Jason promised to get Shane back to the hospital by two. As soon as they arrived at the house, Shane ran up stairs, took a quick shower, and lied down. Even though he was exhausted, it took him a good hour to fall asleep. He couldn't stop thinking about Tori, hoping she was okay. Shane woke to an annoying buzzing sound. He groaned and pushed the pillow against his ears, when he remembered Tori.

Shane shot off the bed, pulling a hat over his un-straightened messy hair, and ran down stairs trying to smooth the wrinkles in his clothes on the way down. "Shane…" Jason was standing by the end of the stairs, but was taken aback by Shane's appearance. "uh…I was just about to come up and get you, we'll grab something to eat on the way." Shane headed for the door and Jason followed him. "We have to wait for Nate and Sophie."

"NATE!" Shane yelled, his voice carrying through the house. Nate came up from the basement followed by Sophie who had just taken a shower and changed her clothes. Shane stared at Sophie's pants. "Are those mine?"

"Uhhh…" Sophie stuttered, but Nate interrupted her.

"She needed some clothes to change into and mine didn't fit her right."

"What ever. Let's go." Shane was in the car before everyone was out the door. Jason ran through a Taco Bell drive through and Shane barely touched his food. They arrived at the hospital and Shane rushed in, along with Sophie, anxious for any news about Tori. The receptionist paged Tori's doctor after some prying from Shane. They all waited together in the waiting room for ten minutes before the doctor showed up…

**Review!! Tell me what you think!!**


	8. Finally, Some Good News

**I know I left u guys hanging with the last chapter, so i decided to post this one a little sooner than I had planned. REVIEW!!**

**Chapter 8: Finally, Some Good News**

"I've got some good news!" The doctor said excitedly. Shane smiled as he stood along with everyone else. "Victoria came out of surgery at ten this morning. The damage from the crash was minimal, it could have been much worse. She will have to go through rehab for a few months, but she'll be back to normal before you know it."

"Is she awake? Can we see her?"

"She just woke up about an hour ago, asking for you." The doctor said looking at Shane. Shane looked back at the others.

"Do you guys mind if I, uh… visit her alone for a while?" Shane was mainly talking to Sophie.

"No. Go ahead, I'm going to call Adam." Sophie answered and Shane walked off towards Tori's room. Tori was looking more like herself. The tubes and machines were gone, except for the heart monitor and IV of course, and the swelling had gone down.

"Hey Tori." Tori looked at Shane and smiled.

"Shane…" Tori winced when she spoke. Her voice was raspy, probably from the tube they had shoved down her throat.

"It's okay, don't speak, it probably hurts." He answered, lowering himself in the chair beside her bed. Tori shook her head.

"I'm fine." Shane smiled.

"The doctor said you were asking for me?" Tori nodded.

"I dreamt about you."

"You did?" Shane asked curiously. People could dream while in a coma? Tori nodded again.

"You said, 'My heart will always belong to you…' then you were singing, to me I think, but couldn't finish because you started crying." Shane shook his head as he picked up the golden necklace that still sat on the end table.

"It wasn't a dream." Shane said placing the necklace in Tori's hand. A tear streamed down Tori's cheek.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Shane leaned over her and kissed her forehead.

"I'm so sorry for being such a jerk, I should've know how much hiding our relationship was affecting you." Tori didn't respond. "Do you want to hear the whole song?"

"I'd like that." Shane straightened in his seat and began to sing.

You warned me that you were gonna leave  
I never thought you would really go  
I was blind but baby now I see  
Broke your heart but now I know  
That I was being such a fool  
And I didn't deserve you

I don't wanna fall asleep  
Cause I don't know if I'll get up  
And I don't wanna cause a scene  
But I'm dyin' without your love  
I'm beggin' to hear your voice  
Tell me you love me too  
Cause I'd rather just be alone  
If I know that I can't have you

Lookin' at the letter you that you left  
Wondering if I'll ever get you back  
Dreaming about when I'll see you next  
Knowing that I never will forget  
That I was being such a fool  
And I still don't deserve you

I don't wanna fall asleep  
Cause I don't know if I'll get up  
And I don't wanna cause a scene  
Cause I'm dyin' without your love  
I'm beggin' to hear your voice  
Tell me you love me too  
Cause I'd rather just be alone  
If I know that I can't have you

So tell me what we're fighting for  
Cause you know that truth means so much more  
Cause you would if you could, don't lie  
Cause I'd give everything that I've got left  
To show you I mean what I have said  
I know I was such a fool  
But I can't live without you

Don't wanna fall asleep  
Don't know if I'll get up  
I don't wanna cause a scene  
But I'm dyin' without your love  
I'm beggin' to hear your voice  
Tell me you love me too  
Cause I'd rather just be alone  
If I know that I can't have you

Don't wanna fall asleep

Cause I don't know if I'll get up  
And I don't wanna cause a scene  
'Cause I'm dyin' without your love  
I'm beggin' to hear your voice  
Tell me you love me too  
Cause I'd rather just be alone  
If I know that I can't have you

By the time Shane was finished singing he had tears in his eyes. "I wrote that song after we broke up, I was going to sing it to you before… all this. I love you Tori, you know that right?" Tori nodded as a smile graced her lips.

"I love you too… I love you too." Shane kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Did the doctor tell you the good news? Everything is fine, all you have to do is go through rehab for a few months." The smiled on Tori's face was replaced with a look of worry. "What's wrong?"

"Months? I'll have to miss school and I won't be able to work. What'll happen to Tori and Adam? I'm the only family they've got besides Gran and her condition is getting worse."

"Don't worry about it, all right. I'll take care of it of all that. And so you'll have to take your senior year again, you'll be with me." Tori smiled.

"That's a plus."

"Besides that, it's not like your graduating that late. You'll be the same age as me." Tori nodded. **(Shane had gotten behind on schoolwork during the tour and he had turned 18 that August) **Shane moved so he was sitting on the edge of Tori's bed, holding her hand. Tori suddenly laughed, ruining a perfectly sweet moment. "What?"

"Your hair, I've never seen it so curly. It reminds me of Nate."

"That being one of the main reasons I straighten my hair. Speaking of Nate, do you want me to go get the others? Sophie, Jason, and Nate are waiting to see you."

"Yeah, bring them in." Just then Sophie, Nate, and Jason walked through the door.

"Thank goodness." Sophie said and smiled broadly. "We thought we were going to have to wait at the door and listen to you guys drool over each other all night."

"Do you guys not know the meaning of privacy?" Shane asked slightly irritated. Tori just laughed.

"Hey Sophie. Jason. Nate." They all greeted her with a hug.

"How are you feeling?" Sophie asked as she pulled back from her sister.

"Good. Just a little sore, that pain medicine is working really well."

"Are you up for more visitors? Adam really wants to see you."

"Yeah!"

"Good, cause Denise, Paul, Frankie, and Adam are coming over to see you." Tori smiled.

"Thanks for asking first."

"No problem sis. So are you hungry?"

"No, well yeah, but the doctor says I can't have anything except ice chips for the next few hours." Tori said rattling the cup of ice chips she held in her hand. After about twenty minutes, everyone else arrived, crowding into the small hospital room. Adam jumped on the bed and wrapped his arms around Tori. "Hey bud. I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Tori." Adam sat down beside her on the bed. Tori mouthed, _Thank you_, to Paul and Denise. They just smiled and nodded with understanding. After another hour of visiting, Paul and Denise took Adam and Frankie back to their house. Jason looked towards the door.

"I think I'm gonna go grab a cup of coffee, anyone want to join me?" Sophie and Shane stood up at the same time.

"Coffee!" They said in unison. Shane bent over and placed a light kiss on Tori's lips as Jason and Sophie pretended to gag.

"I'll be right back." Shane whispered.

"Nate, do…" Sophie turned toward Nate, who was sleeping in the chair. She covered her mouth, then looked over at Tori. "If he wakes up, tell him we'll be right back." Tori nodded and the three headed out the door. Five minutes passed and Tori was almost asleep, when she heard a beeping noise. She glanced over at Nate and realized it was coming from his watch.

"Nate. Nate!" Tori said as loud as she could, but her throat was still sore from the tube and her voice wouldn't go above her normal voice. Tori knew about Nate's diabetes, so she knew it was important that he wake up. She threw her legs over the bed and used the IV stand to help her up. But as soon as Tori put weight on her feet, pain spread up her legs. She yelped and fell back on the bed. Nate's eyes jerked open and landed on Tori's face, twisted with pain.

"What happened?" Tori's face relaxed as the pain subsided. She shook her head and pointed to his watch.

"Insulin?" Nate's eyes widened.

"I forgot it in Jason's car." He stood in panic, but immediately sat back down feeling dizzy. "Tori…"

"Hold on Nate, I'll page a nurse." Tori pressed the call button on the remote three times. A nurse came into the room.

"Is there something wrong miss?" Tori pointed to Nate.

"He needs his insulin." The nurse's eyes widened at the sight of Nate and Tori soon saw why. He was already dramatically pale as he held his head with his hands. "Stay with me Nate." Tori said repeatedly while the nurse rushed out to get the insulin. Tori could see Nate fading. "Nate! Nate, come on. Stay with me."

The nurse rushed in, forcing some orange juice down Nate's throat to keep him conscious, then checked his blood sugar, and injected him with the correct amount of insulin. Nate thanked the nurse after his head cleared. The nurse smiled and left the room. "You okay?" Tori asked.

"Yeah."

"Sorry."

"For what? You just like saved me."

"No, the nurse did. I couldn't even walk to wake you up."

"Maybe that's true, but you did wake me up and I did get my insulin, thanks to you." Tori just smiled. The next few months were going to be difficult. "Seriously Tori, if you hadn't thought to wake me up, I could be in a diabetic coma right now and everyone would've thought I was just asleep."

"That's a bit extreme, don't you think? Taking your insulin ten minutes late isn't gonna put you in a diabetic coma."

"Okay, maybe not, but still. Stop arguing with me." Just then Shane came running in holding a mini-carton of orange juice. He went over the Nate.

"Drink!" Shane said quickly.

"But Shane…"

"We don't have time for this, just drink!" Nate decided not to argue, he liked orange juice anyway. "Jason ran down to his car with Sophie to get your insulin, they'll be up in a minute." Tori laughed and Shane glanced over at her.

"Shane, calm down. He already took his insulin." Shane looked back at Nate, who was now nodding, but continued to drink the orange juice.

"But it's…and we were…and he was…"

"Take a deep breath Shane. We got it covered, we are in a hospital you know." Shane sat down on the edge of the bed facing Nate. Nate set the carton down on the end table.

"Thanks for the O.J. though Shane."

"Thanks for the O.J…" Shane mimicked Nate like a five-year-old. Just then Jason and Sophie ran into the room, but before they could do anything, Nate stood to his feet and put his hands in the air.

"I already had my insulin, so please don't attack me." Jason looked at Tori, who nodded, then at Shane who also nodded, and then looked back at Nate.

"But…your…and you…its…what?" Nate told them what had happen, over exaggerating the whole, 'Tori saved my life', concept. "Go Tori." Jason said.

"I really didn't do that much." Shane brushed his hand lightly against her cheek.

"Awe, she being modest." Tori blushed slightly.

**Tell what u think!! REVIEW!!**


	9. Sometimes the Hardest Thing

**Chapter 9: Sometimes the Hardest Thing…**

Later that night Tori was able to convince Sophie to go back with Jason and Nate so she could get some rest, but Shane was more stubborn. "You should go home and get some sleep Shane."

"No. I'm staying here with you."

"Why?"

"Why don't you want me to?" Shane sounded hurt.

"No, I do, but I don't want you to feel like you have to."

"I know I don't have to, I want to."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. I won't get any sleep knowing you're here alone anyway." Tori scooted her body to the edge of the bed.

"Well, if you insist on staying here, I'm gonna have to insist you at least be comfortable." She said patting the empty space. Shane sat down beside Tori and she rested her head against his shoulder. It was silent for a minute, but a peaceful silence, when Shane broke it.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry?"

"It's my fault. All of it." Tori looked up at Shane and watched a tear roll down his cheek.

"You didn't cause any of this." She told him. "Some things just happen…"

"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have let you go."

"Shane, I needed to think, I was just going for a drive, you didn't know…"

"I mean I shouldn't have let you go after that concert. I should've begged for your forgiveness then and none of this would've happened."

"I don't blame you for what happened."

"But I do." Tori lifted her head and let her hand trail up Shane's stomach and over his chest, landing on the right side of his face making Shane look at her.

"Don't blame yourself for this, okay? Even if it was your fault, which it isn't, I'd still love you." Shane kissed the side of Tori's head.

"That's how awesome you are." Shane smiled as Tori rested her head back on his shoulder. The next morning Shane awoke before Tori, still lying next to her. He turned onto his side and began to play with Tori's wavy brown locks. Shane accidentally pulled to hard on a piece of her hair and Tori's eyes opened. She groaned and tilted her head to the left, toward Shane. "Morning Sleeping Beauty." Tori smiled.

"Morning."

"Good morning." A nurse was standing by the foot of the bed holding a tray of food. "You know we usually don't let other people sleep on the bed with the patient, even if you are a celebrity." Shane took the hint and got off the bed then sat down on the chair. The nurse set the tray down on the rolling table and rolled it over Tori, helping her move the bed back into the upright position. "Enjoy." The nurse said. After the nurse left, Shane got up and joined Tori back on bed.

She looked at him and laughed. "What? She said I wasn't aloud to _sleep_ on the bed, she said nothing about sitting." Tori picked at the food that sat on her tray. She finally decided to eat the banana and give the rest to Shane, who gladly devoured it. It was around lunchtime when Sophie, Jason, and Nate showed up baring gifts.

"Merry belated Christmas!" Jason said dropping the gifts next to the bed. Tori was starring hard at Sophie.

"You did not let them get me anything." Sophie smiled.

"It's all for you." Nate answered for her.

"Yep, we went shopping this morning and I helped them pick out stuff you'd like." Sophie said as she sat at the foot of the bed.

"You guys have done enough! I don't need gifts too."

"No one needs gifts, you give them to people you care about, and we care about you, Tori."

"Why is your family so nice?" Jason shrugged and handed her one of the presents. After opening a teddy bear, some clothes, and pair of converse's, Shane placed a kiss on the side of her head.

"You already have my present." He whispered into her ear and lightly touched the heart necklace that was hanging loosely from her neck. Suddenly Shane jumped off the bed. "I need coffee!" He yelled and Tori started laughing.

"That was really random." Nate smiled and nodded.

"Isn't he always? I'll go with you, Shane. I could use some coffee too." Sophie looked at Tori.

"I'm gonna go with them, we'll be back in a few." Tori just nodded. Shane, Nate, and Sophie walked out of the hospital room and Jason started to pick up the wrapping paper.

"I'll help…" Tori started, then remember she couldn't get up. "Oh, never mind." Jason smiled at her.

"It's alright, I got it." As Jason sat down, Tori let out a huge yawn. "You look tired." Tori nodded.

"Yeah, I am."

"Well, you might want to rest a little before the others come back."

"Yeah…" Tori yawned again as she closed her eyes. Within a few minutes Tori was asleep. Jason pulled a crumpled piece of paper, just looking at it brought tears to his eyes. He'd written the song after he found out about Shane and Tori. They tried to hide it, but it was so obvious to everyone. Jason stood quietly. "Jason? Where are you going?" Jason turned and hid the paper behind his back.

"No where. Go back to sleep." Jason answered Tori, then dropped the piece of paper into the small trashcan, sitting by the door and sat back down in the chair. A few more minutes passed and Shane came back up to the room.

"Hey…" He was instantly cut off by Jason.

"SHH!" Jason put his finger to his lips, signaling Shane to be quiet, then pointed at Tori. Shane nodded. "Where's Nate and Sophie?" Jason whispered.

"In the cafeteria."

"You left them by themselves?" Jason was standing now. "I'll be right back." After Jason left Tori started to stir. Shane sat down next to her taking her hand in his.

"Shh. Its ok, I'm here. Go to sleep."

"Shane?" Shane smiled and kissed her temple.

"Yeah." Tori moved slightly, trying to get comfortable, then fell back into her dreams. Shane scooted back in the chair and sat there trying to pass time. His eyes randomly roamed about the room, when they landed on a single piece of lined paper sticking out of the trashcan. Since he was bored and had nothing better to do, he got up and pulled the paper from the trashcan. It was a song.

There are certain people you just keep coming back to  
She is right in front of you  
You begin to wonder could you find a better one  
Compared to her now she's in question

And all at once the crowd begins to sing  
Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same

Maybe you want her maybe you need her  
Maybe you started to compare to someone not there

Looking for the right one you line up the world to find  
Where no questions cross your mind

And all at once the crowd begins to sing  
Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same

Maybe you want her maybe you need her  
Maybe you started to compare to someone not there  
Maybe you want it maybe you need it,  
Maybe it's all you're running from,  
Perfection will not come

And all at once the crowd begins to sing  
Sometimes  
We'd never know what's wrong without the pain  
Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same

Maybe you want her maybe you need her  
Maybe you've started to compare to someone not there  
Maybe you want it maybe you need it  
Maybe it's all you're running from  
Perfection will not come

Maybe you want her maybe you need her  
Maybe you had her maybe you lost her to another  
To another **(song is 'All At Once' by The Frey, a couple of the lines were omitted so the song would fit better. I OWN NOTHING!)**

Shane stared at the piece of paper, knowing immediately who had written it and the song's meaning. Shane cursed himself under his breath for being so stupid. He knew Jason liked Tori, but he simply ignored the fact. Jason walked into the room, followed by Nate and Sophie. Shane looked up at Jason, remorse filled his expression. "Jason, can I uh… talk to you outside for a minute." Jason nodded and followed Shane into the hall.

"Shane, what's this…" Shane held up the paper.

"I didn't know you liked her _that_ much." Jason grabbed the piece of paper.

"I threw this away for a reason."

"You've been such a great brother and I've been terrible."

"No you haven't. You and Tori belong together, Shane, and everyone can see it. I was slightly angry at you when I wrote this, but it's ok, because me and Tori just weren't meant to be."

"I'm sorry Jason."

"There is no reason to be sorry. Hasn't mom and dad always told us to follow our hearts? Well your heart tells you that you love Tori, and my heart tells me to let you love her." Shane smiled.

"Thanks Jase." Jason and Shane walked back into the hospital room. Tori was now awake and Shane was smiling at her.

"What?" Tori asked feeling slightly self-conscious because of the way Shane was looking at her.

"Nothing. I just… love you." Tori returned the smile.

"I love you too." Sophie giggled at the two of them and Jason just stared. He had never seen that smile from Shane; it lit up his entire face and was filled with contagious happiness. Tori was so obviously happy, everything about her said so.

_Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same…_

"Earth to Jason!" Nate's voice broke him from his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"You okay, man? You were gone for a minute there."

"Yeah. I'm good." Later that night Jason, Nate, and Sophie were preparing to leave. Jason had just gotten off the phone with his mom. "Hey Tori, I gotta talk to you before we leave." Shane took the hint and walked into the hallway with Sophie and Nate.

"What is it Jason?" Jason took the seat Shane had been sitting in.

"Now before I tell you I know you're going to object, so I might as well start with this. You don't have a choice in this matter." Tori stared at him blankly for a moment before Jason went on to explain. "After you are released from the hospital, you, Sophie, and Adam are going to come live at our house."

"Jason…"

"No. I already told you, you don't have a choice. Whether you like it or not, you're not going to be able to take care of Adam in your condition. Besides, it's the only way. We didn't want to upset you, but a social worker came by while you were in a coma. She said that she'd have to put Adam and Sophie into foster homes. My mom talked with the social worker and decided that if you guys were to come and live with us, then we could keep them out of foster care."

"Thank you." Jason smiled and hugged her.

"I was hoping you'd take it that well. My mom will take you to rehab, we have everything worked out. In fact the movers should already be at your apartment, getting everything that isn't nailed down."

"Your family is way too good to us." Jason glanced down at his watch.

"I should get going. We'll come by tomorrow." Tori nodded.

"Bye." Jason walked out of the room and a moment later Shane was sitting back in his chair. "Did you have anything to do with that, Shane?" By the way he was smiling Tori knew he did.

"Only if you count yelling at the social worker and calling her an idiot because she was, 'taking two kids from the best person in the world', as being involved."

"You yelled at the social worker?"

"Yeah. Nate did too. You should have seen him. I've never seen him so steamed."

"Nate? Yelling? That's possible?" Shane nodded.

"Exactly! I think he was worried he'd never see Sophie again."

"Thanks, Shane. I don't know what I would've done if they had taken Adam and Sophie from me."

**A/N: Hey people!! it might take a little bit longer to get my next chapters up since ive been working on Stand in the Rain a lot. Review!!Please!!**


	10. IMPORTANT!

**Another Author's note, i know I'm srry but this is REALLY IMPORTANT!! I AM CHANGING MY PEN NAME!! so there is no confusion i wanted to let you guys know. it will be TakeABreath. or something like that. I'll put it at the bottom of my profile too. -Jen**


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